1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a direct attach cable for being directly connected to a device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional cable used for inter-device connection, there is a direct attach cable provided with a cable of which end portion is connected to a paddle card, and a housing (module) formed to store the paddle card as well as the end portion of the cable and to be insertable into and extractable from a cage as a connection target of the paddle card.
In this direct attach cable, the housing located at the end portion is inserted into a cage provided to a device, thereby electrically connecting the paddle card in the housing to a connecting terminal in the cage.
If the housing is pulled out from the cage during operation of the device, signal communication is interrupted or the device sometimes breaks down, therefore, the direct attach cable is provided with a latch to prevent such a problem.
The latch has a structure in which the housing is engaged with an engaging portion provided on the cage at the time of insertion so that the housing is not accidentally pulled out from the cage. In addition, it is configured that the engagement between the engaging portion and the latch is released by operating a de-latching (i.e., release of a latch) mechanism provided on the housing or the cage for pulling the housing out from the cage.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,805,573 discloses in the specification that a mechanism in which a latch is retracted on a housing side by operating a lever having the latch formed thereon to release a latched state.
In this mechanism for providing a de-latched state by retracting the latch on the housing side, it is necessary to use a link having a rotation center, such as a lever, in order to provide the de-latched state.
However, a direct attach cable has a problem in that a lever mechanically interferes with a cable since the cable is directly drawn from a housing, resulting in that it is not possible to obtain sufficient stroke to provide a de-latched state.
In addition, this mechanism requires two processes, one of which is a process for providing a de-latched state by operating a lever and another of which is a process for pulling the housing out from the cage, for releasing the connection to the device, which is cumbersome.
Therefore, it is desirable that the de-latching mechanism is activated at the same time as applying a force for pulling out the housing when the direct attach cable is detached from the device. In addition, it is desirable that a component for applying a housing pulling force is located on a surface opposite to the latch in view of a mounting state of the housing on a transmission equipment, i.e., a state in which surfaces having latches provided thereon are arranged to face each other.
In order to realize this, a structure using a pull-tab and a link is generally employed, such as a mechanism in which a link (component) having a rotation shaft at a center of a housing is rotated by operating a pull-tab from a surface side opposite to a surface having a latch provided thereon to push up an engaging portion provided on a cage, thereby releasing a latched state (see, e.g., the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,918).